Featured Artist Friday #6

I have mentioned this week's artist in my blog previously. She does great work with natural stones. In many cases, she harvests the stone, cuts it, polishes, and then wraps them into awesome pendants. I love her work and bought a beautiful piece recently for my mother. Two examples of her beautiful work are below.

Name: Marie Frazier
Business: Superior Aagtes Wire Wrapped Gemstone Jewelry
Website: www.superioragates.etsy.com
www.facebook.com/superioragates
www.superioragates.blogspot.com

About me: I am a 40+ year old woman, with 2 grown children, and 2 grandchildren. All of their lives, they have been the root for my survival, my base, and my strength. I draw any and all positive things in life from knowing they are my children, and I love them deeply. I am an artsy person, who has dabbled in a lot of different skills and crafts, and I believe that this just happens to be the most enjoyable one of them all.

What do I do: I cut my own gemstones, from either the rough, or slabs, hand polish them, and wire wrap them in to jewelry

Where do I get inspiration? : Life, and the stones themselves just kinda "talk" to me spiritually.

Who is my biggest influence: God, My children and grandchildren

Dinner from someone in history: Thomas Kincaid.....his paiintings are nothing but pure inspiration to do better, be better, and to use the God given talents instilled inside each and every one of us

After the Flood

I found the pendant for this necklace awhile ago, but never could really find what I wanted to pair with it. The pendant made me think of the great flood story as told in the Old Testament, so I wanted to pair it with something that reminded me of water. This turquoise came and was perfect. Its a combination of blue and green that made me think of the ocean and the shape was different.

Now I have the idea out of my head and can rest. What do you think of the combination? Does the necklace tell you a story?

Featured Artist Friday #5

This week we're going to talk to another jewelry designer. I have a couple of her items favorited on Etsy. I really enjoy her perspective in making jewelry and really enjoyed her interview. A couple examples of her work are below.

Shocking that I would choose blue and green, huh?


Suzanne Cavataio
VCubed Jewelry Designs
www.vcubedjewelry.etsy.com
www.facebook.com/vcubedjewelry


Tell us a little about yourself?
I am a stay at home mom to three beautiful children, all of whose names begin with the letter 'V' (where the name of my business came from). I grew up in rural town in PA and then went on to college at University of Pittsburgh where I studied engineering. Working in my field was amazing, but I always knew that I wanted to stay home after my children were born.
What do you do?
Several years ago I was looking for something to do for me and after taking a jewelry making class I found my niche. As any of you jewelers know, once you start to purchase gemstones and beads you just cannot stop! I decided to start my own business working from my home designing jewelry and I have not looked back since.
Where do you get your inspiration? The patterns and colors of the gemstones inspire me to want to create something to show off the beauty in them. Also, jewelry is something that is so personal to each individual and I hope that everyone who wears one of my pieces feels special while they are wearing it. That is my ultimate goal and explains why all of my gemstone necklaces are one of a kind.
If you could have dinner with one person from history who would you choose and why?Wow, hard question! The engineer in me wants to say Ben Franklin or Thomas Edison, but I think it would have to be Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice is my absolute favorite book! I am not a strong writer especially when it comes to fiction so I think it would be fascinating to have a conversation with her to hear how her ideas materialized. Her writing is so powerful yet romantic.
Anything else you would like to add?Going forward I would like to incorporate more metals with different finishes. I love how different processes can give you such different effects. These mixed with gemstones will create even more unique pieces.

I am a member of the Pennsylvania Crafter's Guild - Yellow Breeches Chapter, the Central PA Bead and Jewelry Society, and also the National Association for Professional Women.

Picture proof of the organization

I took a few pictures of my newly organized work space for proof that it actually happened. I spent about $45 on the containers I used. I got them from the hardware department of the Fleet Farm. They work great for storing beads and such.

You can also see a few of the items I've been working on as well. Better pictures of those items coming soon! 

Emberglow

Yesterday, I posted a blog about the new hot colors for fall. One of those colors was emberglow. I am including a swatch below. I usually think of this as more of a spring color, but the orange tone does make it great for fall.

I made a necklace in this color family out of some faceted coral beads and silver donut spacers. What do you think? I think these may trend more into pinkish red. Back to the drawing board on this color for the season.

Fashion Alert!!

I love fall, the crisp cool air, dragging out my sweaters and jeans and hats. And with the turning of each season, we have new HOT, IT colors. I love what Pantone reports as the new colors for fall. So much fun, not dark and dreary.

They list the colors for Fall for women as :

Bamboo - a darker yellow with a green undertone
Emberglow- an orangy coral color that doesn't jump up and slap you in the face
Honeysuckle - a dark shade of pink
Phlox - a beautiful royal purple
Cedar - a sage green color
Deep Teal - my personal favorite, a great shade of blue/green mix
Coffee Liqueur - a nice neutral brown color
Nougat - a little darker than the inside of a Snicker's bar... a nice light neutral
Orchid Hush - a pale grey, with purple undertones
Quarry - darker gray, great neutral color

I don't want to steal their work or information, so I'm including a link to all this information and much more below:

http://www.pantone.com/pages/pantone/pantone.aspx?pg=20835&ca=4

I love these colors and will be working on some jewelry in these shades!

Five Reasons to get Organized

I just finished organizing all of my beads and tools. Before this, I was working out of 30 gallon tubs and trying to be organized, which wasn't really working. So, I picked an office space in the basement. Cleared all the junk out of it and made a space for my beading. Now, I feel like as weight has been lifted off my chest. I've only made a few things in the past couple of months because it was just too much of a hassle to drag everything out to find what I wanted/needed.. Last night after I finished the organizing... I made four new items!

#1 - It just makes things easier when you can find exactly what you're looking for in a few seconds

#2 - You will find stuff you completely forgot you had. I found a bunch of beads I didn't remember when I went through all of my things.

#3 - Somehow, being organized takes up less space. It seem kind of odd to me, but what was taking up a HUGE 30 gallon storage container before,  now is neatly tucked into 3 storage containers on my desk. I still have tons of room to work on the desk as well.

#4 - It reduces your stress level (at least it did for me). Clutter annoys me and I always felt like my living room was cluttered before. Anytime I needed to work, I had to drag everything out of the storage container and it ended up spread out everywhere.

#5 - Referring back to #1... not only does it makes things easier, it makes them quicker. When I was crafting last night, I spent maybe a minute looking for the items I wanted versus 10 minutes before. That's a huge time savings!

Basically, getting organized boils down to being more productive. We all have a lot of demands on our time and chaos increases time demands. Yes, getting organized does require time and effort. But once it's done, maintenance is as simpled as putting things back when you are done using them. I promise you, it just feels better to be organized!

Featured Artist Friday #4

This week's artist does lovely paintings that give me a peaceful feeling :)

http://www.etsy.com/listing/76746064/hand-painted-silk-wall-hanging-earth

My name is Mary Ann Holley

Heaven on Earth Silks
www.etsy.com/shop/Heaven0nEarthSilk
www.facebook.com/heavenonearthsilks
theuniversealwayssaysyes.com/

Tell us a little about yourself?
I am an out of the closet artist! Art has always been a love of mine and I have background in sewing, beading, weaving, jewelry making,acrylic painting, mixed media, and photography. Silk painting has become an obsession for me. Until now I have been a wife and a stay at home mother & I raised 3 kids who are now 19, 22, & 24. I also have been a 4-H leader for 12 years taught horse back riding and ran the 4H drill team and helped my kids and too many others to mention to raise & show various animals such as rabbits, pigs, goats,& horses. And I have been a basketball mom until last year. I am also an ordained New Thought Minister and give Spiritual counseling to those who are ready to make a shift in the way that they are thinking and living. I have chosen to experience a lot and now my choice is to experience being Spiritual Artist.

Where do you get your inspiration?
My inspiration comes completely from my meditations. I meditate on a daily basis and get pictures in my head. I then take the pictures and draw them out on paper and transfer them to silk and let the magic begin! All of my work is truly a spiritual experience for me. I love the Creative process of taking a picture out of your mind and turning it into a picture that others can see and experience. I also love the way my art is evolving and changing almost daily, it's always a surprise to me how it ends up looking.

If you could have dinner with one person from history who would you choose and why?I would have a hard time choosing some one from history because there are so many people who have influenced and changed my way of thinking. I would instead choose some one from the present who embraces all of the teachings and goes beyond to a paradigm shift and that is Michael Bernard Beckwith. My life is about a continuing unfolding of the true me into a higher consciousness. Michael Beckwith is truly an inspiration to me in creating that process.

I am creating my own reality and loving every minute of it!

4 Reasons to Treat Yourself

I recently decided to buy some beads to make something for myself. To be honest, even though I love most of the jewelry I make, I never have kept anything for myself. Or even made something with myself in mind. I love the act of creating jewelry, but typically view the items as off limits. I decided it was time to treat myself and purchased some semi-expensive beads to make something fun for me. See the beads below:

So, back to the title of this blog. 4 reasons to treat yourself:

#1 - If you're anything like me, you do tons of stuff for other people in your life but often neglect yourself. If you do something nice for yourself on occasion, it makes it easier to keep giving to those other people in your life.

#2 - You work really hard and deserve a treat! Regardless of your profession, whether you work from home or are corporate cubicle dweller, we all find more and more demands being placed on us. Companies and households have been cutting back with the current economy and I imagine most of us are working harder now than we were 5 years ago.

#3 - Because you love yourself. What better way to show yourself that you're valuable than giving yourself a treat? It doesn't have to be expensive or lavish, but I think doing nice things for yourself is important.

#4 - Because it's fun! Buy yourself something that others in your life wouldn't. No one I know would buy me beads because it's kind of an odd gift. So, sit back and think of something you would love to have that no one else would think to buy you. Then, go out and get it for yourself!

Happy shopping!

A new custom order

So, I got a new custom order to make a bracelet for every day wear. I wanted to make her something along the lines of the bracelet below:

Of course, those beads are back-ordered. So, I went in search of them from a different source. I found something similar on Etsy, but the seller only showed 8 of them in stock. I contacted the seller and asked if they had more. And the seller never answered!! How can people run shops and expect business if they can't show some common courtesy. Grrr!!

Sorry for my little rant. This happy little bracelet shouldn't make anyone want to rant.

Featured Artist Friday #3

Today's artist is not an artist in the traditional sense, but she still does a ton of awesome work! Those of you from Facebook are likely already familiar with her as she often hosts some very fun networking events. She works really hard to help out all of the small businesses on Facebook and I wanted to learn a little more about her. Sooo... with no further ado, its Mama!

Name:  Callie Domingues

Business: CSD Enterprises

Website(s):
Easy Boutique Builder
Mama's Coffee Shop
Suzy Q Designs
Digital Designs Galore
Mama Loves Smelly Stuff
PLR 4 Mamas
Bubba and Toot's

Tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Callie. I am Christian mama that is married to my best friend. I am also blessed with three kiddos aged 10, 6 & 3 that I homeschool. My home also houses two German Shepherd puppies and two cats that we all adore.

What do you do?
Everything! :) I am a work at home mama that runs a few websites. Okay, more than a few!
I sell a website management system called Easy Boutique Builder.
I design website templates for that system (and others like it) called Suzy Q Designs.
I create digital papers for photographers and scrapbook fanatics from Digital Design Galore.
I sell on eBay, Bonaza and my own website under Bubba and Toot's which is new and used clothing, shoes and other items.
I sell PLR (private label right) articles via PLR 4 Mamas.
I also sell Scentsy from my Mama Loves Smelly Stuff site. 
I homeschool my kiddos. We are now entering our 6th year this year! It is a huge blessing to be able to stay home and be an important part of my babies education. It is a huge undertaking and a decision that my husband and I Do Not take lightly. With much thought and prayer we are able to continue each year.
I also taxi my oldest to all of his athletic events.
In short, I am One Busy Mama!

Where do you get your inspiration?
 My inspiration comes from the Lord, without question. Everyday without fail He picks me up, stands me upright and carries me through. All of my little inspirations comes from everyday things....my kiddos, my surroundings, dreams and adventures.

Who has been one of your biggest influences?
My Lord and my family. My husband has always been a huge support in everything I do.

If you could have dinner with one person from history who would you choose and why? Abraham Lincoln. The man was a great influence in out country. But even for the human flaws that he had and the personal errors he made, be believed in freedom, religion and being true and just. A wonderful example of a good Christian man. A man after God's own heart, just like King David of Israel.

Helllooooo

Sorry for the prolonged absence. I suddenly had a bunch of orders to take care of, as well as some personal family issues to deal with.

I bought birthday presents for both of my parents. For my dad, I got a hand carved airplane model. And for my mom, I got a pendant made of Lake Superior Agate. Its really cool and it is the Minnesota state stone. I wanted to get her a piece of Minnesota to have with her so she would feel closer to me. Picture below:

I got it from a very cool shop on Etsy. You might want to go over and check it out... Superior Agates

Thats it for today.